2 PNP officials die of COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — Two Philippine National Police officials have died of COVID-19, the PNP reported yesterday.

Forty-six PNP personnel succumbed to the virus since the COVID-19 pandemic started last year.

PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas assured the fallen personnel’s relatives that they would be given “every assistance they needed.”

PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said both officials died on April 12.

One is a 48-year-old lieutenant colonel from the Legal Service who was asymptomatic but with high comorbidity due to a kidney ailment.

The other officer was a 47-year-old lieutenant of the Explosive and Ordnance Disposal/K9 Group who
died of severe pneumonia.

The two are among 235 more PNP members who contracted COVID-19 as of yesterday. The number of active cases in the police force is at 2,391 while 272 others have recovered from the virus.

Ninety of the new cases are from various administrative and operational support units of the PNP while 78 are assigned in different police regional offices across the country.

Eleazar said 67 are assigned in Metro Manila, including five at Camp Crame.

At least 17,637 PNP members have contracted COVID-19 since last year. Of the number, 15,200 or 86.18 percent of the patients have recovered from the virus.

The PNP’s vaccination drive remain in full swing with 6,768 getting inoculated: 5,085 with Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine; 1,679 with AstraZeneca’s vaccine; three with Moderna’s vaccine and one with Pfizer’s jabs.